Material distributor and spreader



May w, 193%. F. E. ARNDT MATERIAL DISTRIBUTOR AND SPREADER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 11, 1931 INVENTOQ: FQAINKL/N f. AENDT.

May 1Q, 1938.

F E. ARNDT MATERIAL DISTRIBUTOR AND SPREADER Filed Aug. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J/vvENToQ F/QANKL/N E. AENDT. 3% 77/. 71M

Patented May 10, 1938 UNITE.

STATES BIATERIAL DISTEHBUTOR AND SPREADER Franklin E. Arndt, Galion, Ohio, assignor to The Gallon Iron Works & Mtg. 00., a corporation of Ohio Application August 11, 1931, Serial No. 556,340

38 Claims.

This invention relates to road building machines adapted to distribute and level road material such as broken stone, gravel or broken or finely divided materials on roadways.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved and efiicient broken stone distributor for roadways which is adapted to be hauled by and behind a dumping truck to receive the broken stone or other material from the truck and discharge it to one side of the roadway while the truck remains for support and travel on such roadway.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved stone spreader for directing ma- 15 terial into a trench extending longitudinally along one side of a roadway.

More particularly it is the object of the present invention to provide a stone spreader adapted to be hauled by and behind a truck and to receive broken stone or other material from the truck and discharge it to one side of the roadway in a layer preparatory to widening a previously built roadway while such truck remains on the latter for support and travel therealong.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l. is a rear view of my improved stone 1 spreader in position for distribution of broken stone into a trench extending along one side of an old roadway which is to be widened;

Fig. 2 is a side view of my stone spreader connected to a dumping truck the rear end of which 5: is shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the stone spreader opposite to that shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the stone spreader with the rear portion of the dumping truck shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 5--A is a detail view.

In Fig. 1 a hopper 6 of metal plates and rein- 45 forcing angle irons is shown supported on framework comprising the supports 1, l and diagonal braces 8, 8. This framework in turn is mounted on the spaced-apart shoes Q. 9 which are adapted to extend longitudinally of the roadway.

As shown in Fig. 4 the hopper ii has a front wall ill-which is inclined downwardly and rearwardly. The rear wall H of the hopper E is approximately vertical. At one end of the hopper 6 a vertical wall 12 extends between the walls to and H.

Connecting the lower edges of the walls it, H,

chassis.

and i2 is the closed bottom wall l3 which inclines downwardly from the wall IE to the edge M of the opening 15 in the bottom of the hopper 6 at that end thereof opposite the wall l2. The lower right-hand rear portion of the front wall H] is cut away to form the edges l5 and I1; the latter being in continuation of the edge M. The Vertical walls l8, I9, and co-act with the walls if), H, and Hi to form the hopper 6 with its discharge opening IE, 50, 34 off to one side of the roadway on which the stone spreader is adapted to travel.

It should be particularly understood that the hopper is adapted to be hauled by and behind a dumping wagon or truck to which the spreader is detachably connected. For this purpose a. pair of chains 2! is provided, the forward ends of which are connected to the frame of the truck and the rear ends connected to supporting framework of the hopper adjacent the shoes or runners 9. A pin and clevis 22' may be employed to adjustably connectthe rear. ends of the chains 2| to the inclined perforated plates 23 which are secured to the front braces 1. Preferably the chains are connected to the plates 23 so as to draw them taut while the forward edge 24 of the hopper 5 is held against the rear cross-piece of the wagon or truck sill or frame shown in dotted lines at 25 in Fig. 2, thereby resisting the tendency of the hopper to swerve from its right angle position relative to the roadway due to the action of the strike-off blade on material in the trench.

It should be noted that during operation. of a trench filler as illustrated in Fig. 1, the engagement of the strike-01f plate 36. hereinafter described more in detail, with the spreading material tends to swerve the hopper away from that side of the truck adjacent to the trench 26. In order to overcome this tendency the chains 2| are each drawn taut and secured in the manner described to hold the forward edge 24 of the hop per against the rear-crosspiece of the truck Since the forward edge 24 of the hopper is merely in frictional engagement with the rear end of the truck frame. limited up and down movements of the hopper relative to the truck frame are permitted when the skids 9 ride over irregularities on the surface 29 of the roadway.

It should also be understood that my improved stone spreader is particularly useful in connection with the widening of previously built or old roadways having hard surfaces such as those having crushed stone foundations and finished on top with asphalt. At the edge of the hardsurfaced portion of the roadway a trench 26 may be dug longitudinally and filled with crushed stone 2! as shown in Fig. 1 by means of the spreader shown in the accompanying drawings.

The spreader is connected to the dumping truck by means of the chains 2| so that at all times the wheels of the truck and the runners or shoes of the spreader shall remain on the previously built hard surfaced roadway. As shown by the dotted lines 28, 28 in Fig. l, the wheels of the truck may occupy positions on the roadway 29 approximately the same as the paths of the runners or shoes 9, 9.

While the crushed stone container or box 30 of the dumping truck is in the position shown in Fig. 2 and the rear gate 3| is in open position, the truck wheels may be supported on the hardsurfaced roadway 29 while the opening I5 in the hopper 6 is in position to deliver the material to the trench 26 which extends longitudinally along one side of the roadway 29, as shown in Fig. 1.

In order to prevent crushed stone from rolling onto surface of the roadway 29 a cut-off plate 32 is provided as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Whatever stone tends to roll under the hopper and forwardly ofthe edges I4, I! of the discharge opening I5 will be deflected into the trench 26 and consequently the adjacent runner 9 will not be interfered with in its smooth travel along the hard-surfaced roadway 29.

As an assurance that the runners shall have free paths of travel the forward ends thereof may be V-shaped as shown at 33, 33 in Fig. 4.

The lower edge 34 of the end wall I9 is spaced above the road surface 29 so as to permit the stone to spread freely to the outermost limits of the trench 26 as shown at 35 in Fig. 1.

In order to regulate the depth of crushed stone laid in the trench 26 a strike-off plate 36 is provided at the rear of the open end of the hopper 6. Wing end plates 31 are pivoted at 38 to the rearwardly extending supporting plates 39, 39 which are rigidly secured to the hopper 6. A reinforcing angle iron 49 is secured to the lower edge of the strike-off plate 36 as shown in Fig. 3.

Secured at 4| to the rear wall I of the hopper are standards 42 to the upper ends of which is pivoted at 43 a tubular bearing 44 for the screw rod 45. Crank arms 46 are connected to the rod 45 to manually rotate the latter so as to advance or retract the screw rod 45 through the tubular nut 41. The latter is pivoted at 48 to the brackets 49 which are secured to the rear side of the strike-off plate 36. By turning the crank arms 46 the elevation of the strike-off plate 36 may be adjusted and consequently the crushed stone emerging from the discharge opening I5 in the hopper may be stroked to secure the filling of the trench 26 to a predetermined depth.

By referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the outer supporting bracket 39 has its lower edge 34 located at a predetermined spaced distance from the surface on which the shoes 9 slide while the inner supporting bracket 39' is extended down into proximity to such surface so as to act as a guard plate to prevent crushed stone from spreading onto the hard surface of the roadway. In other words, by providing the plate 39' at the inner edge of the trench 26 approximately in the plane of the cut-off plate 32 a vertical wall is formed for the inner end of the strike-off plate 36.

Secured to the lower edge of the wall I I and to the upper edge of the vertical plates 39 and 39' is a horizontal cross-plate 4| -to which is secured the lower ends of the standards 42. The plate 4| acts as a reinforcing plate for the vertical plates 39 and 39' while also serving as a support for the lower ends of the standards 42. Preferably the standards 42 are welded to the plates 4| and 4| and the latter are welded to the hopper structure.

The crushed stone is dumped from the full width of the truck when the latter is in the dumping position shown in Fig. 2; such stone slides along the gradually inclined closed bottom I3 to the discharge opening I5 where it may spread outwardly under the edge 34 to fill the trench beyond as shown at 35 in Fig. 1. The stone also spreads forwardly under the edge I6 but is prevented by the cut-off plate 32 from spreading onto the hard surface 29 of the roadway where the stone might interfere with the adjacent runner 9. The stone also spreads rearwardly under the plate 4| into the confined space bounded on the inner side by the guard plate 39, on the outer side by the plate 39 and at the rear by the strike-off plate 36. The lower edge of the plate 39 is close to the hard surface of the roadway 29 and therefore prevents spreading of the stone onto the latter.

It should be particularly noted that the bottom I3 slopes gradually from one side of the roadway to a lower edge closely adjacent to the hard surface roadway near the trench as shown in Fig. 1 but such slope is greater than the angle of repose of the material so that gravity will move such material into the trench, although such movement is retarded by friction. Since the material is free tospread outwardly under the edge 34 and forwardly under the edge I6 to properly fillthe trench for stroking by the strike-off blade 36, forward movement of the towing truck is required while the material is being discharged from the inclined bottom I3 to the discharge orifice or open bottom. However, even if the towing vehicle should stop while material is in the hopper, and such material should continue to flow out from the open bottom of the hopper, such flow would be limited by the edges 34 and I6 which when engaged by the material would automatically lock the material against any further flow until the towing vehicle is started up again. But in any event, whether the hopper is being towed along the roadway or whether it is standing still, no material would be spread onto the hard surfaced roadway because of the close proximity of the lower edge of the bottom to such hard surfaced roadway and because of the close proximity of the lower edges of the guard plates 32 and 39' to the hard surfaced roadway, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 4 shows clearly that the guard plates 32, 39' are in longitudinal alinement with the lower edge of the inclined bottom I3.

The flaring of the interior of the hopper is preferably so proportioned with respect to the positions of the runners 9, 9 that the trench filler is always Well balanced. That is to say, sufficient weight is maintained during operation on the runner 9 shown at the right of Fig. 1 to keep it at all times on the road 29. Tendency toward tilting of the hopper toward the trench 26 is therefore obviated. The runners 9, 9 are suffi ciently elongated to extend from the front to the rear of the hopper and therefore tilting forwardly or rearwardly is also prevented.

It should also be noted that while the accompanying drawings show a right-handed trench filler the latter may be left-handed and in some cases such left-handed trench filler may be preferred because enabling the driver of the truck to better assist in moving the truck and trench filler more accurately along the road edge of the trench.

While mention has been made of crushed stone for filling a trench dug alongside an old road way it should be understood that the structure shown is also adapted to receive andtdistribute various mixtures such as stone dust, or water and crushed stone, which mixture after being directed into the trench can be rolled into a cornpact trench filler and then covered with molten tar or asphalt. It will also be evident that brick, concrete or other previously built roads may be widened by having trenches dug along one side or the other or on both sides and concrete poured from a truck or mixer into the hopper 6 while the latter is being hauled along the inner edge of the trench 26 with the opening IS in the position shown in Fig. 1.

As the truck moves along while dragging the stone spreader by means of the chains 2'! the forward edge 24 of the hopper 6 is held against the frame 25 of the truck. The stone entering the space in advance of the strike-off plate 36 is stroked by the latter to a layer of uniform depth in the trench 2,6. Such depth may be regulated by adjusting the height of the strikeofi. plate 36. Inasmuch as the heights of the connections of the chains 2! to the dumping trucks may vary, it is desirable to have aseries of perforations at various elevations in the plates 23.

It should also be noted that to facilitate movement of the material from the truck box or con tainer 3!! in a direction toward the discharge opening 55 an upright deflecting board 5i supported by suitable framework 52 may be placed in that rear corner of the box 3!] remote from the opening 15 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended and I wish therefore not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus shown and described an en1bodiment; of my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having an open top adapted to receive material from the full width of discharge of a dumping truck, said hopper having means for directing such material to an open bottom at one side of the path of travel of the truck, means for supporting the hopper for travel along a previously built roadway with said open bottom serving to control the discharge of material along a path at the edge of the roadway, and haulage means adapted to connect the spreader to said truck in position to receive material from the rear end of the latter dining travel of the truck along the roadway.

2. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having an open top extending transversely of a roadway and an open bottom at one side of the roadway, spaced-apart elongated runnersextending longitudinally of the roadway, and means securing said runners to said hopper in position to prevent tilting of said hopper while receiving material through said open top and discharging material through said open bottom.

3. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having an open top extending transversely of the roadway and an open bottom at one side of the roadway, spaced-apart elongated supporting runners, and means for connecting said runners in position under said open top to prevent tilting of said hopper either longitudinally or transversely of the roadway during spreading operations.

4. The method of widening roads which consists in hauling road building material along a previously built road, dumping such material gradually by gravitywhile being hauled along the roadway, directing the material transversely of the roadway to one side thereof for spreading into a layer of predetermined uniform depth, and acting on the spreading material along a line spaced from the inner edge of the layer and parallel thereto to limit such spreading to secure a layer of spread material of predetermined uni-* form width.

5. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having an open bottom surrounded by the hopper walls extending upwardly from such open bottom, said open bottom being in position to move along a path at one side of a roadway and parallel thereto, self-supporting means for enabling said hopper to travel along said roadway with its open bottom serving to discharge the material in a predetermined course, and means for regulating the depth of the course of material laid down.

6. In a material spreader, the combination with a hopper having an open top and an offset open bottom, of means for rendering said hopper self-subporting on the surface along which the spreader is adapted to travel, and a guard plate in advance of the inner edge of the open bottom in position to prevent material from spreading into the path of said supporting means.

'7. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having the lower inner edge of said offset open bottom,

9. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper with an offset open bottom having its inner edge adjacent the surface on which the hopper is supported and having its outer and rear edges spaced above such surface to permit spreading of the material to a limited extent beyond the hopper, and means for regulating the depth of the material discharged from said open bottom.

10. A material spreader comprising a hopper having an open bottom with its inneredgeadjacent the surface on which the hopperis supported and having its forward and rear and outer edges spaced above such surface to permit limited spreading of the material forwardly and rear. wardly and outwardly relative to said hopper, and means for regulating the depth of the material spread from such open bottom. i

ll. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having offset open bottom and a discharge opening in the rear wall of the hopper at the rear edge of open bottom, spacedepart parallel plates extending rearwardly from said hopper, and a rear connecting plate at the rear. ends of parallel plates to coact therewith to conan offset open bottom, means for supporting said hopper, and a cut-off plate in I it fine the material after discharge from said discharge opening.

12. A road material spreader comprising a hopper having an offset open bottom and a discharge opening in the rear wall of the hopper at the rear edge of said open bottom, parallel spaced-apart vertical plates projecting rearwardly from said open bottom, a cross-plate connected to said parallel plates and spaced rearwardly from said hopper, and an adjustable strike-01f plate associated with said cross-plate.

13. A road material spreader comprising a hopper having an offset open bottom, a strikeoff plate for regulating the depth of material discharged from said open bottom, a chute extending rearwardly from said open bottom, spacedapart plates connected to the ends of said strikeoff plate and pivotally connected to said hopper to position said strike-01f plate at the rear end of said chute, and means carried by said hopper for adjustably holding said strike-off plate in predetermined position relative to the open bottom of said hopper.

'14. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having a discharge opening, at one side thereof, a cut-off plate in advance of the lower inner edge of the opening and an inclined bottom Wall for directing road-building materials contained in the hopper through the said opening.

15. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper adapted to be de-tachably connected to and hauled by and behind a dumping truck, the hopper having a discharge opening ofiset to one side of the path of travel of the truck, means for confining the discharged material within a limited space, and mechanism for regulating the depth of material laid.

16. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper adapted to be detachably connected to and hauled by and behind a dumping truck, the hopper having a discharge opening in the bottom and in the rear wall thereof, the openings being offset to one side of the path of travel of the truck to spread road material from the truck along one side of a roadway, and strike-off mechanism in position to regulate the depth of material after discharge thereof from the said openings.

1'7. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having a discharge opening in the bottom at one side of the hopper with the inner edge of said opening extending longitudinally of, the roadway and adjacent thereto, and means for gradually feeding road building material contained in the hopper over said longitudinal inner edge through said opening laterally of the roadway as the hopper is drawn along the roadway.

18. A material spreader adapted to be detachably connected to and hauled by and behind a dumping truck, comprising a hopper adapted to receive road building material from the truck, the hopper having an open bottom. with its inner edge at one side of the roadway and closely adjacent thereto, and a bottom wall sloping laterally of the hopper and downwardly to the open bottom for gravitationally directing such road material over said inner edge through said open bottom as the hopper is drawn along the roadway.

19. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having an open topto receive material from the full width of discharge of a dumping truck, said hopper having a bottom wall inclined transversely of the roadway to an open bottom at one side of the path of travel of the truck, means comprising parallel spaced-apart runners for rendering the hopper self-supporting for travel along a previously built roadway with the inner edge of said open bottom closely adjacent to the level of the surface of the roadway, and haulage means adapted to detachably connect the spreader to said truck in position to receive material from the rear end of the latter during travel of the truck along the roadway.

20. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having a bottom wall inclined downwardly and laterally of the roadway to an offset bottom discharge opening having its inner edge closely adjacent the level of the road surface and its outer and rear edges spaced above such level, self-supporting frame-work for said hopper, haulage means adapted to detachably connect the spreader to a hauling truck in position to receive material from the rear end of the latter during travel of the truck along the roadway, an adjustable strike-off blade associated with said rear edge of said bottom discharge opening, and mechanism for adjusting the elevation of said strike-off blade relative to said hopper to regulate the depth of the material discharged from said bottom discharge opening by the towing of the spreader back of said truck to effect discharge of material from said hopper through said discharge opening.

21. A machine for distributing road material on to a shoulder of a roadway, comprising the combination of a hopper having a bottom wall in a single inclined plane extending downwardly transversely of the roadway from an open top to an open bottom, said bottom being in position to receive material from the full width of a dumping truck, such open bottom being adapted to occupy a distributing position over said shoulder, and frame-work comprising spaced-apart elongated runners parallel to the roadway for rendering the hopper self-suppqrting on the roadway and for carrying said hopper with its bottom opening permanently ofiset to one side of the frame-work to occupy such shoulder distributing position as the machine is moved along the roadway with said runners parallel thereto.

22. A trench filling machine adapted to be connected to and towed by and behind a road vehicle along the roadway, comprising the combination with a hopper having an outer vertical wall and an inner bottom wall sloping transversely of the roadway to the inner edge of an open bottom the outer edge of which is at the bottom of said vertical wall, frame-work comp-rising spacedapart elongated runners for rendering said hopper self-supporting and for carrying said open bottom in offset position relative to the framework for movement of such open bottom along said trench with the inner edge of said open bottom closely adjacent to the level of the road surface, haulage mechanism having spaced-apart connections for detachably hitching the framework and hopper to such road vehicle for towing by the latter to effect flow of material from said hopper through its bottom opening into said trench, a plate mounted for adjustment in elevation and extending transversely of the path of travel of said open bottom, and mechanism for adjusting the elevation of said plate relative to the hopper to regulate the depth of material discharged through said open bottom into said trench.

23. A trench filling machine comprising the combination with a supporting frame, of an open bottom hopper secured to said frame with the open bottom offset to one side thereof for movementalong the trench, said hopper having a bottom wall sloping downwardly transversely of the roadway to the inner edge of said open bottom the outer edge of which is at the bottom of an outer upright wall of the hopper, a pair :of spaced-apart parallel elongated traction shoes connected to said frame to render the machine self-supporting on a roadway with said 'open bottom in position for movement along said trench, instrumentalities at the front side of the machine for detachably connecting the frame and hopper to a road vehicle for towing along the roadway while supported by said shoes with the latter parallel to said trench and the open bottom in position to discharge road material directly into said trench, and adjustable strike-off mechanism rearwardly of the open bottom for regulating the depth of material laid down in the trench by the towing of the machine along the roadway.

2. A trench filling machine adapted to be detachably connected to and towed by and behind a dumping truck, the. combination with a hopper having a bottom wall incline-d downwardi ly transversely of the roadway from an open top to the inner edge of an open bottom and having an outer wall extending vertically downward from said open top to the outer edge of said open bottom, of frame-work for supporting said hopper with its bottom opening offset to one side of said frame-work for movement along the trench as the machine is towed by said truck, said frame-work supporting the hopper with the inner edge of said bottom opening closely adjacent to the level of the road surface, and mechanism on the front side of the machine adapted to detachably connect said frame-work to such dumping truck for towing by the latter to effect flow of road material from said hopper through said open bottom into said trench.

25. In a road material spreader adapted to be detachably connected to and hauled by and behind a hauling truck, the combination with a hopper having an open top for receiving material from a dumping truck the full width of the latter, saidhopper having a gradually sloping bottom extending from one end thereof transversely of the path of the truck to a discharge opening closely adjacent the level of the road surface to discharge road material along a path parllel to the path of travel of the truck and at one side thereof, mechanism for supporting the hopper on the roadway independently of the truck, and means for detachably connecting said hopper and said supporting means for movement alon the path of travel of the truck while. said hopper receives material the full width of the dumping truck and transfers it transversely of the roadway to said discharge opening closely adjacent the road surface at one side of the path of travel of the truck.

26. A road material spreading machine comprising a supporting frame adaptedto be towed along a roadway, a hopper connected to said frame in a self-supporting unit, said hopper having a gradually sloping bottom from one side of the roadway to an opening at the other side thereof, and the aforesaid frame supporting the hopper to maintain the inner edge of said opening' closely adjacent to the roadway so that material sliding along said sloping bottom to said opening may lay down a course of such material at one side of the roadway during travel of the spreading machine along the roadway.

27. A trench filling machine comprising the combination with a supporting frame adapted tobe towed along a roadway, and a hopper carried by said frame to form a unit self-sustaining on the roadway, said hopper comprising an inclined bottom wall gradually inclined downward- 1y all the way across the roadway to the inner edge of an open bottom adapted to move along one side of the roadway offset to one side of the path of travel of the hauling vehicle so the latter and the said frame. may be supported on the roadway during filling of the trench, saidframe serving to support said hopper with its inner edge parallel to the edge of the roadway and closely adjacent to the level of the road surface with said open bottom offset to one side of the path of travel of the hauling vehicle.

28. In a road material spreader for filling a trench extending along one side of a roadway, the combination with a hopper having an open bottom adapted to occupy an offset position at one side of the roadway during operation of the spreader, of a frame for said hopper, elongated runners for rendering the frame and hopper self supporting and connected to said frame to track the wheels of a hauling dumping truck, and haulage connections for connecting the spreader to such truck while the wheels of the latter and said runners travel along the hard surface of the roadway and said openbottom travels along a trench at one side of the roadway.

29. In a road material spreader, the combination with an open top and an offset open bottom closely adjacent to the surface of the roadway, framework connected to the hopper to form a rigid unit, mechanism for detachably connecting said unit to a towing vehicle, and mechanism on the bottom of said unit to support the hopper in receiving position independently of said towing vehicle and to support the outer edge of the open bottom in parallelism to the path of travel of the spreader with the outer wall of the hopper at the said outer edge in position to limit the spreading of the material laterally relatively to thepath of travel of the hopper.

30. A road widening spreader comprising a hopper having an open top adapted to receive material from the full width of discharge of a dumping truck, said hopper having means for directing such material to an open bottom at one side of the path of travel of the truck, spacedapart self-supporting road engaging means for the hopper to enable the latter to be supported on a previously built roadway for travel along the same while said open bottom remains free and unobstructed for controlling the discharge of material along a path at the edge of the roadway spaced laterally from said self-supportingmeans, and haulage means adapted to connect the spreader to the truckin position to receive material from the full width of the rear end of the latter as aforesaid during travel of the truck along the roadway.

31. A trench filling machine comprising the combination'with a supporting frame adapted to be towed along a roadway, of a hopper carried by said frame and adapted to discharge road materials therefrom, said hopper having an opening in the bottom through which the materials are discharged into a trench along a roadway over which the opening is adapted to hang, the hopper increasing in depth gradually towards the discharge opening for directing the materials through the opening with the inner edge closely adjacent the paved roadway and the inner edge of the trench, and two spaced traction shoes carrying the frame and "hopper, both traction shoes having paths of travel spaced laterally from the path of said opening.

32. A machine for building shoulders along the marginal edges of a roadway, comprising a frame adapted to be towed along the roadway, a hopper carried by said frame and having a discharge opening at the relatively deep end surrounded by the inner walls of the hopper, said inner walls including a gradually inclined bottom wall having its lower edge closely adjacent the roadway, the lower edges of the front and outer lateral walls having greater clearance from the roadway than said lower edge of said inclined wall but serving to limit the spreading of the material forwardly and outwardly when the machine is stationary on the roadway, mechanism spaced laterally from the path of travel of said discharge opening for supporting the frame and hopper on the roadway with said lower wall edges clearing the ground surface to afford a free and unobstructed passageway for discharging material but permitting said lower front and rear and lateral wall edges to limit the spreading of the material and the depth thereof.

33. A machine of the character described, comprising the combination with a supporting frame, of an open bottom hopper carried by said frame and adapted to discharge road materials therefrom when moved along a roadway, the front and outer lower edges of said open bottom serving to limit forward and outward spreading of the material when the machine is stationary on the roadway, traction shoes carrying the frame and hopper for support on the roadway, said hopper having inner walls in permanently fixed relation to each other including a gradually downwardly inclined bottom wall having a lower edge closely adjacent to the roadway, strike-off mechanism on the hopper at the rear of the said open bottom to effect regulation of the depth of material laid down, and haulage mechanism for connection to a hauling vehicle for towing the machine along a roadway to effect such discharge of materials from said hopper while the traction shoes travel along paths parallel to and spaced laterally from the path of travel of said open bottom,

34. A machine of the character described, comprising the combination with a hopper having a permanently offset open bottom with its lower edges in position to prevent spreading of the material onto the roadway and to limit forward and outward spreading from such'open bottom, of a supporting frame connected to said hopper to form a rigid unit with said open bottom adjacent the roadway, said hopper having inner walls in permanently fixed relation to each other and extending upwardly from the lower edges of said open bottom, said hopper including a bottom wall gradually downwardly inclined transversely of the roadway, traction mechanism connected to said frame for paths of travel on the roadway spaced laterally from the path of travel of said open bottom, and haulage connections between said frame and a draft vehicle for effecting movement of the machine along the roadway and thereby effect gradual discharge of the materials from said hop-per as controlled by the proximity of the lower edges .of said open bottom to the ground surface.

35. Ina material spreader adapted to be towed by and behind a dumping truck to secure the operation of spreading, the combination with a hopper having a gradually downwardly inclined bottom extending from an upper shallow portion to a relatively deep portion having an open discharge bottom, of a frame for supporting said hopper with the lower edges of the inner walls of the hopper in position to prevent spreading of the material onto the roadway and to so limit forward and outward spreading as to require movement of the spreader to secure spreading, mechanism for supporting the frame and hopper on the roadway with said open bottom overhanging one edge of the roadway, haulage connections from the frame and hopper to said dumping truck to effecttowing of the hopper behind the truck while material is delivered from the truck to said hopper and the gradual inclination of the bottom of the hopper and proximity of the lower inner edges of the inner hopper walls to the road surface retards the spreading of the materials laid down, and strike-off mechanism on the hopper back of said open bottom for regulating the depth of the course of material laid down during the forward travel of the truck and hopper along the roadway.

36. The method of widening roads which consists in hauling road building material along a roadway, dumping such material gradually by gravity while being hauled along the roadway, directing the material in a continuous flow transversely of the roadway to one side thereof for spreading into a layer having an upper surface in predetermined relation to the upper surface of the adjacent roadway, and acting on the spreading material to secure such first named upper surface for the course of material laid down.

37. The method of widening roads which consists in digging a trench along the edge of a roadway, hauling road building material along such roadway, dumping such road material gradually by gravity while being hauled along the roadway, directing said road material transversely of the roadway for delivery to said trench, filling the trench, and acting on the material in the trench to spread its surface so as to be in predetermined relation to the surface level of the roadway.

38. In a material spreader, the combination with a hopper having an open top and an offset open bottom, of means for supporting said hop- 

